Not long after He Wanqing hid the little box away, Old Lady Chen came by again.
She touched He Wanqing’s forehead and said, “The fever’s basically gone now. It probably won’t come back. This is tonight’s medicine. After you finish it, there’s no need to keep taking any more. Just take better care of yourself from now on.”
Ye Jianwen quickly accepted the medicine. “Thank you, Grandma Chen.”
“It’s all thanks to Auntie Chen. Otherwise, I’d probably have lost my life here. How much do I owe for the medicine these past two days?”
He Wanqing wasn’t the kind of person who liked taking advantage of others. Besides, doctors were not people you wanted to offend—especially in this kind of world.
Old Lady Chen looked surprised that she would voluntarily bring up the medical fees. Back in the village, He Wan had always tried her best to avoid paying whenever possible.
“The medicine cost ten copper coins. Your mother-in-law already paid for it,” Old Lady Chen replied. “Remember, boil three bowls of water down to one bowl.”
After reminding Ye Jianshan, she left.
He Wanqing hadn’t expected the original owner’s mother-in-law to pay for her medicine. From the inherited memories, the old woman had never liked He Wan very much.
The memories were probably accurate.
Most likely, the original owner had never bothered to truly understand her mother-in-law.
Still, He Wanqing disliked having people above her trying to control her life, so she had no intention of creating unnecessary trouble for herself. Maintaining some distance was ideal.
But the money absolutely had to be repaid.
She had money herself. There was no way she could calmly let an elderly woman cover her medical expenses.
So she waved toward Ye Jianwu.
Usually the least noticeable among the brothers, Ye Jianwu immediately brightened when his mother called for him. He hurried over with a silly grin.
“Mother, you called me?”
“This is the medicine money. Go return it to your grandmother. And remember—hand it directly to her.”
“Don’t worry, Mother!”
Ye Jianwu immediately took the money and headed toward the eldest branch of the family.
For the first time, He Wanqing truly felt the convenience of having these boys around.
They acted quickly and never asked unnecessary questions.
When Ye Jianwu arrived, Old Lady Ye was drying clothes beside the fire. Old Man Ye sat nearby smoking his pipe, while Madam Qian was making shoes.
Eldest Uncle Ye and Ye Jian’an weren’t there—they had gone hunting with the villagers.
The moment Madam Qian saw Ye Jianwu, her sewing slowed unconsciously, and her ears perked up slightly.
Walking up beside Old Lady Ye, Ye Jianwu held out the money.
“Grandma, Mother told me to return the medicine money.”
He made no effort to lower his voice, so the instant Madam Qian heard the word “money,” she immediately set aside her needlework and walked over.
Even though she already knew the answer, she deliberately asked, “Mother, what money is this?”
Old Lady Ye shot her a glance but didn’t explain, merely accepting the coins.
Meanwhile, Ye Jianwu honestly recounted the entire situation.
Madam Qian instantly became dissatisfied.
“Mother, why should you be the one paying for her medicine? We’re not one household anymore! And our family’s money doesn’t just blow in on the wind—”
Seizing the opportunity, Madam Qian launched into a lengthy complaint.
She had already been bottling up resentment for a long time.
Why should their household have to contribute silver for Second Branch’s travel permits? And now medicine costs too? When would it end?
Old Lady Ye didn’t stop her. If she didn’t let the woman vent, she was afraid Madam Qian might explode from holding it in.
Still, when it came to the root cause of the issue—He Wanqing—Old Lady Ye glared in her direction twice, feeling somewhat puzzled.
This kind of thing had happened before, yet He Wan had always silently accepted it without paying back a single coin.
Why had she suddenly returned the money this time?
Standing nearby, Ye Jianwu listened to his aunt’s endless complaints until his face turned red—though his dark skin hid it well.
Only when Madam Qian paused to catch her breath did Old Lady Ye interrupt.
“All right, enough. I only paid first because she looked like she was about to die from the fever. There won’t be a next time. The hunting party should be back soon—go boil some water.”
Then she turned to Ye Jianwu impatiently.
“What are you still standing there for? Go back already.”
Ye Jianwu finally relaxed and hurried away from the battlefield.
Old Man Ye slowly shuffled over beside his wife with a grin.
“Did those ten coins upset you that much? Why not hand them over to me? I’ll help you vent your anger.”
“You dead old man! All you ever think about is squeezing money out of me. Fine, take it, take it—seeing it annoys me anyway.”
Old Man Ye happily accepted the coins, tucked them into a tiny inner pocket sewn into his clothes, fastened the button tightly, and patted it with satisfaction.
Wonderful.
Another ten copper coins saved!
Just as He Wanqing finished drinking her medicine, the hunting party returned.
At that moment, the final traces of sunset disappeared beyond the horizon.
Seeing the hunters carrying animals large and small, smiles spread across everyone’s faces.
This was the first time the hunting team had brought back such a large haul.
Villagers immediately crowded around.
“Village Chief, what a great harvest today!”
“You’ve all worked hard, Village Chief!”
“Hurry and divide the meat already! We’re waiting to cook!”
The crowd buzzed excitedly, and for a brief moment, the exhaustion of the refugee journey seemed to vanish.
The village chief raised a hand for silence.
“Once I’ve finished dividing everything, you can collect your portions. For now, go boil water.”
The villagers scattered at once without complaint.
Watching this scene, He Wanqing became even more aware of the village chief’s capabilities.
Unfortunately, the boys misunderstood her focused observation as her wanting to eat meat.
Ye Jianwen comforted her, “Mother, I estimated earlier that our family should get about half of a small animal.”
He Wanqing looked at him in surprise.
“You can even calculate that?”
“I carefully observed how the village chief distributes meat before. I figured out his rules.”
Though he spoke casually, He Wanqing clearly recognized the boy’s intelligence.
She began considering properly nurturing his talents.
About the time it took to drink a cup of tea later, someone shouted for each household to send a representative to collect their meat.
Every family that contributed someone to the hunting party received a share, and nearly every household in the village had participated. In their family, Ye Jianwu was the participant.
Around thirty men had been divided into two rotating teams. This time wasn’t Ye Jianwu’s turn, so he hadn’t gone hunting today, but their family still received a portion.
The instant the signal came to collect the meat, Ye Jianwu shot to his feet.
“Mother, I’ll go get it!”
“Go ahead.”
His eagerness was obvious.
Looks like he really wanted meat.
Then again, so did she.
Even though she’d only arrived in this world half a day ago, it somehow felt like she hadn’t eaten meat in ages.
Before long, Ye Jianwu returned carrying half a wild chicken and one wild egg.
Under the entire family’s gaze, he gave his usual goofy grin.
“Mother, how should we prepare it?”
“We’ve already eaten today. Make it into rations for tomorrow. Boil water first and pluck the feathers.”
On the refugee road, most people prepared the next day’s food the night before.
He Wanqing decided to follow local customs.
While waiting for the water to boil, the village chief walked over.
“Jianshan’s mother, I heard your fever broke?”
He had specifically come to check on her, since she really had looked close to death before.
“Thank you for your concern, Village Chief. I’m fine now.”
This was He Wanqing’s first real interaction with him, and she found him approachable and easygoing.
“It’s good that you’re all right. We’ll continue traveling normally tomorrow, then. If you get tired, rest on the cart more.”
Only after saying it did the village chief remember that she already spent most of her time riding the cart anyway.
His expression instantly became awkward.
He Wanqing didn’t notice.
“Mm, I will. Oh right, Village Chief, how much farther do we still have to go?”
“At our current pace, we’ve already traveled more than halfway. If it doesn’t rain, another ten days should get us into Xuannan Province. As for Changning Prefecture specifically, we’ll have to ask around after arriving there.”
At least ten more days…
“Thank you for letting me know.”
The village chief finally realized why talking to He Wanqing today felt strange.
She was much more polite than before.
Not wanting to dwell on it, he pulled out the wild egg he had specifically brought over.
“The refugee road isn’t easy. At least eat an extra egg.”
“Village Chief, we already received one. This one should go to your grandson.”
He Wanqing appreciated the kindness, but she also knew the village chief’s family wasn’t well-off either.
There was no need for him to give it away.
The village chief didn’t insist on forcing it into her hands.
Instead, he simply placed it into the clay bowl sitting on a rock, waved casually, and left.
Watching his slightly bent back, He Wanqing suddenly felt strangely emotional.
Meanwhile, at the eldest branch’s camp, another argument over a wild egg was taking place—though under completely different circumstances.
“I refuse! It’s only one egg—why should that woman get to eat it? Their family already got one!”
Madam Qian stood in front of her husband with red eyes.
Eldest Uncle Ye sighed helplessly.
“It’s just one egg. Whether we eat it or not won’t matter much. Your younger brother’s wife is in poor health. Let her nourish herself a little. Otherwise, what happens to those four nephews? Are you willing to raise them?”
Madam Qian hardened her heart.
“O-Of course not! Besides, that woman isn’t dying anymore. Didn’t Auntie Chen say she recovered already?”
Eldest Uncle Ye frowned.
“The illness is gone, but her body must still be weak. A little nourishment won’t hurt.”
Madam Qian remained unmoved.
So Eldest Uncle Ye looked toward his mother.
Old Lady Ye had just witnessed the village chief giving He Wanqing an egg. She immediately said, “No need. Keep it for Jian’an. That woman’s life is tough enough—she’ll survive.”
Since even his mother said so, Eldest Uncle Ye let the matter drop.
But afterward, he quietly pulled his son aside into a corner.
“Jian’an, next time you go hunting, look after Jianwu a little more. And if you find eggs again, secretly give one from our share to your second uncle’s family before your mother notices.”
Ye Jian’an immediately nodded.
“Don’t worry, Father. I understand.”
Among the two hunting teams, the busiest person was undoubtedly Ye Jian’an.
He participated in every hunt—not to receive more meat, but to gain experience.
Though exhausting, he learned many valuable skills from the veteran hunters and enjoyed every moment of it.
He Wanqing, of course, knew nothing about the argument the eldest branch had over her.
At the moment, she was busy directing her four boys on how to pluck chicken feathers.
Verbally directing, anyway.
“Hey, A-Ming! Don’t stick your hand directly in there—the water’s still hot! You’ll boil your hand!”
A-Ming immediately stopped.
Then he secretly lifted his head for a quick glance at his mother—only to see her staring directly at him.
Reflexively, he lowered his head again.
He Wanqing: “……”
Why was it that every time she looked at this little dark-skinned kid, he immediately avoided her gaze?
Did the original owner abuse him?
But there was no memory of that at all!
No matter how much He Wanqing thought about it, she couldn’t figure it out.